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the Press Release Index
13th June 2009
Aberdeenshire Bucks Agriculture Trend
North East MSP Alex Johnstone has welcomed
the publication of figures which show that West
Aberdeenshire and Kincardine is bucking the national trend
of falling numbers of people working in agriculture across
Scotland.
The figures show that for Aberdeenshire
there has been a year on year rise since 2005, when there
were 531 people employed in the agricultural industry, up
until 2008 when the figure was 720.
Figures for Scotland as a whole show a
decrease between 2007 and 2008 of 460.
Commenting, Mr Johnstone, himself a farmer
said "As one of our primary industries, farming was once one
of our key rural employers but numbers have been in decline
for decades. These figures show that growth is possible and
that farming businesses are finding new ways to provide
economic opportunities in some of our most peripheral
communities."
"I am delighted to see that the farming
industry in Aberdeenshire continues to support a substantial
amount of jobs. The industry itself has not had its troubles
to seek over recent years with substantial increases in
legislation and red tape, but the sector is a resilient one
and continues to play a hugely important role in the economy
of the north east and Scotland."
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